Electrode Device for a Capacitive Sensor Device for Position Detection

1. An electrode device for a capacitive sensor device for detecting a position of an object relative to the electrode device, wherein the electrode device comprises a transmitting electrode configuration, a receiving electrode configuration and at least one ground electrode, wherein the transmitting electrode configuration, the receiving electrode configuration and the at least one ground electrode are each arranged in separate layers above each other, respectively and spaced apart from each other, at least one ground electrode is arranged between the transmitting electrode configuration and the receiving electrode configuration, and the transmitting electrode configuration comprises a first transmitting electrode, which is configured to receive a first electric alternating signal and wherein the receiving electrode configuration comprises a first receiving electrode configured to receive a signal transmitted by the first transmitting electrode, wherein the transmitting electrode configuration, the receiving electrode configuration and the at least one ground electrode are formed by parts of electrically conductive layers of a printed circuit board having a plurality of edges and are all arranged within a region of one of the edges so that an edge surface of the printed circuit board forms a capacitive sensor surface and a capacitive coupling between the transmitting electrode configuration and the receiving electrode configuration is influenced by an object approaching the sensor surface.

2. The electrode device of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting electrode configuration comprises a second transmitting electrode configured to receive a second electric alternating signal.

3. The electrode device of claim 2 , wherein the first electric alternating signal applied to the first transmitting electrode is inverse with respect to the second electric alternating signal applied to the second transmitting electrode.

4. The electrode device of claim 2 , wherein the first transmitting electrode and the second transmitting electrode are arranged within one layer and each comprise a number of electrode segments spaced apart from each other and connected to each other electrically, wherein the electrode segments of both transmitting electrodes are arranged side by side in an alternating fashion.

5. The electrode device of claim 4 , wherein the electrode segments of the two transmitting electrodes have the same form and the same surface area.

6. The electrode device of claim 2 , wherein the first transmitting electrode is arranged in the same layer as the second transmitting electrode and spaced from the second transmitting electrode.

7. The electrode device of claim 6 , wherein the first transmitting electrode has a lesser electrode surface area than the second transmitting electrode.

8. The electrode device of claim 6 , wherein a first distance of the first transmitting electrode from an edge of a printed circuit board is smaller than a second distance of the second transmitting electrode from the edge of the printed circuit board.

9. The electrode device of claim 1 , wherein the receiving electrode configuration comprises at least one first receiving electrode and one second receiving electrode.

10. The electrode device of claim 9 , wherein the first receiving electrode and the second receiving electrode each comprise a number of electrode segments spaced from each other, wherein the electrode segments of both receiving electrodes are arranged side by side in an alternating fashion.

11. The electrode device of claim 10 , wherein the width of the electrode segments of the first receiving electrode decreases along a detection axis and wherein the electrode segments of the second receiving electrode each have the same width.

12. The electrode device of claim 10 , wherein the width of the electrode segments of the first receiving electrode decreases along a detection axis and wherein the width of the electrode segments of the second receiving electrode increases along the detection axis.

13. The electrode device of claim 10 , wherein the first receiving electrode and the second receiving electrode are arranged within one layer.

14. The electrode device of claim 10 , wherein the first receiving electrode and the second receiving electrode are arranged above each other.

15. The electrode device of claim 9 , wherein the first receiving electrode is arranged in a layer above the second receiving electrode and spaced apart from the second receiving electrode.

16. The electrode device of claim 15 , wherein the distance of the first receiving electrode from a detection edge decreases along a detection axis.

17. The electrode device of claim 15 , wherein a first distance of the first receiving electrode from a detection edge decreases and a second distance of the second receiving electrode increases along a detection axis.

18. The electrode device of claim 1 , wherein an area within a layer of the printed circuit board of the at least one ground electrode is larger than a respective area of the transmitting electrode configuration and larger than a respective area of the receiving electrode configuration.

19. The electrode device of claim 1 , at least one of the electrodes reaches all the way to a completion edge of the printed circuit board.

20. A printed circuit board comprising an electrode device of claim 1 , wherein the electrodes of the electrode device each are arranged directly one upon the other.

21. The electrode device of claim 1 , wherein the printed circuit board comprises layers that do not comprise any electrodes.

22. An electric handheld device comprising a printed circuit board of claim 1 .

23. The electrode device of claim 1 , wherein the electrodes extend along a detection axis and wherein the at least one ground electrode extends longer in the direction of the detection axis.